Americans turn to online videos — Online video sharing sites are reaping the benefits of the ongoing writers' strike in the US. — According to net measurement firm Nielsen Online, some online video sites have doubled their audience since the strike began at the end of October.

Steal This Wi-Fi — Whenever I talk or write about my own security setup, the one thing that surprises people — and attracts the most criticism — is the fact that I run an open wireless network at home. There's no password. There's no encryption. Anyone with wireless capability …

MICROSOFT DEAL KING TO LAUNCH OWN FIRM — One of Microsoft's chief deal architects is leaving the software giant to start his own firm. — Bruce Jaffe - currently vice president of corporate development for Microsoft - plans to vacate his post at the end of February.

Microsoft to Buy Yahoo Again! — The Post's Microsoft (MSFT) moles report that Redmond is considering making another run at Yahoo (YHOO), this time by making its informal offer public. This rumor rolls around every few months, and one of these day's it's going to happen, especially if Yahoo's stock continues to tank.

Network Solutions amends Net registration process — Network Solutions, a dominant registrar of Internet sites, has stepped back from some controversial elements of a new registration process. — Network Solutions had implemented some changes in an attempt to curtail “front-running,” …

Google Neglects Jaiku So Users Switch to Twitter — Over at ars technica, there's talk of Jaiku users fleeing to Twitter due to the lack of any innovation since being acquired by Google. … I can attest to the poor performance of Jaiku. After the acquisition, I remembered that I had signed up for Jaiku many months before.

Exciting Changes Coming Your Way — We think you'll be happy to know about improvements we're making to your Office Live Small Business service—especially since many of the suggestions came from customers like you. (And we thank you for that!) — You'll find enhancements across all three …

Introducing SphinnCon & SphinnCon Israel Agenda Posted — The agenda is now up for our first SphinnCon internet marketing event — SphinnCon Israel, to be held on February 5 in Jerusalem. Below, more about the inaugural event and details about the low-cost networking series that is backed by Search Engine Land's forum site, Sphinn.

3 Important Facebook Updates Coming Soon — Here's a quick look at some important Facebook updates that are expected to launch in 1Q 08: — 1) Friend Lists Privacy Controls — A few weeks ago, Facebook took the first step toward enabling more efficient friend management with the release of Friend Lists.

OLPC spin-off plans $75 laptop — According to a report in the New York Times today, a spin-off of OLPC is planning to launch a competitor to the company's $200 XO laptop. Mary Lou Jepsen, former CTO of the Nicholas Negroponte-led company, claims that her new organization, Pixel Qi, can do it cheaper and better.

What's the best Web site for geotagged photos? — Readers of this blog will have inferred I'm a fan of geotagging—in fact, I'm trying to label all my photos with the tags that show where the picture was taken, even though the geotagging process is complicated.

Ask.com names new CEO, president — Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone is quitting after six years with the company, to join a venture capital firm. His replacement, Jim Safka, currently heads Primal Ventures, the venture capital division of Ask.com's parent company IAC.

Big Social News Sites Need to Outsmart the Subverters — Getting on the home page of popular social news sites like Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon is a marketer's dream. Top-ranked topics get recommended by many visitors. Recommendations from people we trust are the No. 1 driver of web traffic …